Clarity
by tataalicat
Summary: He had always been fond of her. And she had always felt something for him. Neither of them knew they felt this way though.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Coulson/Melinda story. Let me know if I should continue!**

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He had always been fond of her.

That wasn't a secret. He always knew he was attracted to her, and anyone with eyes could see why. She was beautiful, but it was so much more than that for him. He knew he before she was the calvary. He knew she went through a lot. He knew she was miserable stuck behind a desk doing paper work. She was field agent.

She, felt something for him too.

He wouldn't have thought so, especially after finding out about Ward and her. They were friends, close friends, and he wouldn't have thought it was anything more, had it not been for the look she gave him when he was helping her with her stab wound.

And now here he was, two weeks after their little moment, sitting in Lola, reading his death report over and over again. His car made him feel secure, even at 30,000 feet in the air. He didn't know the time, mainly because he didn't know what time zone they were in. It was late, he knew, since h\everyone else had long since gone to bed.

Except for her, apparently.

"You need to stop this, Phil." She said, sitting down in the passengers seat.

"I need to know everything Melinda."

She raised an eyebrow, "You've been reading this non-stop. I think you know everything."

He didn't reply.

She looked at him for moment, before looking in front of her. She didn't leave, instead she opted to stay there and wait for him. She knew. She _understood. _He needed time, and she was willing to give him that, but enough was becoming enough. He need to stop this.

And then the file was on her lap. She looked to him, and he met her eyes, "Take it."

"Phil."

"No," he said, "I need you to take it. I need to be away from it for a while, and I trust you more than anyone here. More than anyone I know. I need you to take this from me."

She nodded, "Okay."

"Thank you." He fell silent for a moment, before saying, "You need sleep."

She grinned, "So do you."

"Let me walk you to your bunk."

She went to say something about being perfectly capable of walking herself, but chose not too. Instead, she grabbed the file and opened the door, and he did the same.

The walk to her bunk was silent, because they didn't need words. They were comfortable in the silence.

"You should try to sleep too you know." She mentioned quietly.

He didn't look at her when he said, "I don't sleep well. You should know."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

He stopped, just as they reached her bunk. "I'll try if you do."

She gave him a half grin, "Thank you for escorting me."

He smiled, "Anytime Melinda."

They both just starred. Neither knew who should move first. He was waiting for her to open the door and step in her bunk, and she was waiting for him to walk away. But neither did.

And the next she knew, she was pressed up against the door, with his hands on her waist, her arms around her neck, and their lips pressed together. She fumbled with the door, but managed to slide it open just enough for them to slip inside, and slide it shut.

Her hands went straight to his suit jacket, and as she was pulling it off of him, he pulled away, "Melinda."

"Hmm?" She mumbled, working at her own jacket now.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

She froze.

"Sorry..." he said, noticing her tense up.

"I ended it with Ward." And with that, she kissed him again, but with more meaning.

Sitting outside her door, was the file Coulson gave her, dropped carelessly on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

He was sleeping.

That came as sort of a surprise to her, because he has barely slept in weeks. Then again it didn't, because he was wore out, and this was just the kind of break he needed. She wasn't sleeping, however. No, instead she opted to carefully climb off of the bed, to where their clothes were laying. She smirked slightly, before slipping into the shorts she had been previously wearing, and putting on his button up shirt. Pinstripes, she noticed. Blue and white. He never liked pinstripes.

Then, careful not to wake him, she slid opened the door slightly and slipped out. Crouching, she carefully picked up the file that was on the floor, and tucked the papers back inside of it. It would definitely raise questions if someone found that.

Then, after picking that up, she walked to the kitchen, threw the file on countertop and went straight for the bottle of whiskey she knew was in the back of the cupboard, and poured herself a generous glass of it. She noticed the clock said it a little past three a.m. She found it a bit surprising its was so, well, early. They did...things around midnight. But it felt like she had been laying awake in bed for hours on end before getting up.

She smirked.

They were bound to wind up in bed together at some point. The tension between them was undeniable. Though she thought it would he a little less sudden. She did, in fact, just end things with Ward.

She could feel his presence before he spoke, "I'm going to need my shirt back at some point, you know."

"You hate pinstripes." She commented, taking a sip of her drink. She noticed he pulled on the t-shirt he wore under his button up, and slipped on his pants before coming out of the room. It made her smile, knowing he probably went for his button up first.

He walked past her to get himself a glass. She smiled, and handed him the bottle. "I felt like I could use a change."

She raised an eyebrow slightly, "And wearing pinstripes was your idea of change?"

"I meant what I said, you know." He said, after a brief moment of silence.

She sipped her whiskey, "Which part? That you hate pinstripes? You look horrible in them, ya know." She says in a very Melinda May way. Dry, and sarcastic.

He frowned, "You know damn well what part, Melinda."

She sat the glass down on the counter, "It'll mess things up."

"I'm okay with that."

"Are you?" She said, narrowing her eyes at him, "Are you really ready to go out into the field together if this turns into something? Would you be ready to leave me behind if something happened? Would you be willing to jeopardize the lives of everyone on this plane for mine? I don't think you are." She took a step closer, "You are not ready for that Phil. You become way to attached for that. You wouldn't leave me behind."

"Maybe not," he agreed, "but whether or not you want in this or not, whether or not you are willing to let us be together, I wouldn't leave you behind. That's not an option for me. "

"You, for all intensive purposes, are my partner. Skye and Ward, their partners. FitzSimmons, their partners. You, Melinda, are my partner. And partners have each others back. So no, maybe I'm not ready to make that call. Actually, I know that I wouldn't make that call. I would much rather get stabbed in the chest by a god than leave you behind."

Melinda looked to her feet, and Phil grinned. He knew, that she knew he was right.

"Now," he said, taking one of her hands in his, "Do you know what's going to happen next?"

Melinda shook her head, and raised an eyebrow, "Can't say that I do."

He gave her another smile and placed his hands on her shoulders, "I am going to kiss you. And you are going to stand there in my horrible, pinstripe shirt, and let me kiss you, and I'm going to believe that you're going to kiss me back. If that happens, then, we're going to casually walk back to your bunk, and go to sleep. Got it?"

She nodded, and he closed the distance between them, rather eagerly, she noted.

It wasn't like the first kiss they had shared earlier. No, that one was more filled with want and need. This one was different. It had something neither of them were used to. It had...meaning. It wasn't like they hadn't been in serious relationships before. But none of them meant as much as this did.

And it sure meant something, with the way he was holding her. He wasn't just holding her, he was gripping her, like she may disappear.

"Phil." She muttered against his lips.

He smiled against her mouth, and gently pushing her back up against the counter, where she gracefully slid on top of it. Her hands went to his hair, and her legs around his waist.

"The others can't know." She said rather suddenly, pulling herself away from him slightly.

He chuckled, "You think too much." he pecked her lips again, "We'll figure it out." With that, he picked her up and carried her to her room.


End file.
